Every so often, fashion creates something that doesn’t just set trends, but rather redefines them. The Original Birkin bag is exactly that: an object designed for real life, yet destined for legend. A singular piece of fashion history that signals luxury in a most understated way, the Birkin bag has grown into a cultural phenomenon. With its easy balance of practicality and presence, it’s a masterclass in quiet luxury.
Over the years, it has become more than just a handbag. It stands as a cultural marker, known the world over and sought after by collectors, celebrities, and creatives alike. It doesn’t need to chase trends because it has outlived them, season after season. And when a Birkin appears at auction, it doesn’t just attract attention, it rewrites expectations.
This summer, the very first Birkin, once owned by Jane Birkin, heads to auction at Sotheby’s Paris. Worn, lived in, and loved, its value lies not only in rarity but in story. This isn’t just part of fashion history – it is where fashion history began.
July in Paris: A Moment to Remember
Today, the Birkin is as elusive as it is coveted. Even the wealthiest clients cannot simply walk into Hermès and buy one. You must be chosen. You must wait to be offered one. It is this kind of exclusivity that keeps the brand on a pedestal. But the original Birkin was never produced for sale. It was made for Jane. And that changes the narrative. When it appears in the Sotheby’s “Fashion Icons” sale this July, it won’t just be a handbag under the hammer, but a piece of cultural history that marks a singular moment in fashion. Sotheby’s Handbags & Fashion department is presenting the inaugural Fashion Icons sale in Paris, an event that will feature the Original Hermès Birkin bag, created in 1984 in collaboration with the actress. While other Birkin creations vary across their sizes, colourways and leathers, this unique prototype is distinguished by seven design elements that render its status symbol as the very genesis of the world’s most coveted bag and the embodiment of the Birkin legend.
The Paris sale will also highlight a curated selection of legendary pieces from landmark couture collections by Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen, John Galliano and Thierry Mugler.
The Original Birkin was displayed at Sotheby’s New York from June 6 to June 12 and it will then travel to Paris from the 3rd to the 9th of July before leading the house’s online “Fashion Icons” sale on July 10.
The Story of the First Birkin – A Bag that Became a Legend
Unlike the polished, precision-crafted Birkins of today, Jane’s is a creature of character. Slightly taller and broader than the versions that would follow, it was designed with function in mind. The strap is fixed, the zipper borrowed from a different maker, and the feet – small, unassuming studs at its base – are shaped in a way never replicated. It carries the marks of a life well-lived: creases, scuffs, stories. Its power lies in its imperfections. The initials “J.B.” are stamped inside, but the signature is in every detail, especially the nail clipper Jane hung on the handle, an – apparently – irreverent detail that reminds us this piece was once just a woman’s bag, used daily and without ceremony.
It has been displayed like an artefact, the world over – shown at MoMA in New York, at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, in the Paris salons of Sotheby’s, and most recently at Sotheby’s Maison in Hong Kong. Wherever it travels, it draws crowds, not because it makes a unique fashion statement, but because its story and design transcend time.
Back to the Origins
The origin story of the Birkin has all the marks of a modern legend. It began not in a studio, but mid-flight, somewhere above the clouds. Jane Birkin, the British-French actress and style muse, happened to be seated next to Jean-Louis Dumas, Hermès’s artistic director at the time. In passing, she mentioned how hard it was to find a handbag that was both beautiful and big enough to carry everything she needed.
Dumas listened and then pulled out an airsickness bag to sketch an idea right then and there. What came to light was the earliest version of the Birkin: a two-handled tote, practical but refined, inspired by the house’s classic Haut à Courroies. Hermès crafted the bag in 1985 and offered it to Jane, along with a question that would seal its fate: could she give it her name? She said yes, and a legend was born.
Final Note
Jane Birkin, who passed away in July 2023, owned five Birkin bags throughout her life – each worn, loved, and entirely her own. One of them sold at auction in 2021 for $160,000, shattering expectations at five times its estimate.
The Birkin has long been one of the most admired bags of its time, not just because of its name, but because of what it represents – a symbol of timeless design, still admired decades on. This summer, the Fashion Icons auction in Paris offers a rare chance to own the very first one – the Original Birkin. Crafted for Jane, carried by her, and now returning to the spotlight, it’s more than just a bag. It’s a piece of fashion history, shaped by craft and character, and still bearing the touch of the woman who made it iconic. And for the right bidder, the bag won’t be just a purchase, but an inheritance of style and culture that began on a plane, with a sketch.
